Welcome to Ready and Faithful, We are blessed that you have joined us this year to study the Word of God and grow in your relationship with the Lord! This year we will study through 5 books of the Bible, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, all written by Paul the Apostle. Each of these books is exhortative, challenging and instructional in their own way. This year we have chosen the title “Ready and Faithful” because 1 and 2 Thessalonians exhort us to be ready for the return of Jesus and 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus exhort us to remain faithful and never, ever give up! As we study this year, our prayer is that you will not only be equipped and ready for Jesus’ return, but that you also would occupy while you wait. Warren Weirsbe calls this “staying power” …the ability to understand the ministry of the local church and stick with it until Jesus comes! We are never to give up, but always to be looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. This year we will look at two pastors who wanted to give up, but Paul exhorts them to continue ministering, and continue looking for the Return of Jesus! This is what gets us through the difficult days, knowing that Jesus will be returning for His Bride. Our responsibility is to be ready and faithful until He returns! “Looking for the blessed hope, and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 Looking forward to a fruitful year! Love, Michelle DATES LESSON ASSIGNMENT Fridays (top dates) Mondays (bottom dates) 1 Thessalonians - Overview 9/16/16%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 1 ( Do lesson 1 before you come) 9/19/16 1 Thessalonians 1 9/23/16%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 2 Footsteps of Paul trip - Guest Speaker 9/26/16 1 Thessalonians 2 9/30/16%%%%%%%%%%%%% 3 Footsteps of Paul trip - Guest Speaker 10/3/16 No#Lesson#(#Group# 10/7/16############## KOINONIA Meets#in#Homes 10/10/16 10/14/16%%%%%%%%% 4 1 Thessalonians 3 10/17/16 10/21/16%%%%%%%%% 5 1 Thessalonians 4 10/24/16 10/26/16######### OFF - NO LESSON OFF - NO MEETING 10/31/16 11/4/16%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 6 1 Thessalonians 5 11/7/16 1 Thessalonians 5 (ending) & 11/11/16%%%%%%%%% 7 2 Thessalonians Overview 11/14/16 11/18/16%%%%%%%%% 8 2 Thessalonians 1 11/21/16 11/25/16################ OFF - NO LESSON THANKSGIVING 11/28/16 12/2/16%%%%%%%%%%%%% 9 2 Thessalonians 2 12/5/16 OFF - NO MEETING WOMENS CHRISTMAS DINNER 12/9/16 12/11/16 THROUGH OFF - NO MEETINGS CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS 1/1/16 1/6/17 10 2 Thessalonians 3 1/9/17 1/13/17 11 1 Timothy - Overview 1/16/17 1/20/17 12 1 Timothy 1 1/23/17 1/27/17 13 1 Timothy 2: 1-10 1/30/17 2/3/17 14 1 Timothy 2: 11-15 & 1 Timothy 3 2/6/17 No#Lesson#(#Group# 2/10/17 KOINONIA Meets#in#Homes 2/13/17 DATES LESSON ASSIGNMENT Fridays (top dates) Mondays (bottom dates) 2/17/17 15 1 Timothy 4: 1-10 2/20/17 2/24/17 16 1 Timothy 4: 11-16 & 1 Timothy 5 2/27/17 3/3/17 17 1 Timothy 6 3/6/17 3/10/17 18 2 Timothy - Overview & Chapter 1 3/13/17 3/17/17 OFF - NO LESSON LADIES RETREAT 3/20/17 3/24/17 19 2 Timothy 2 3/27/17 3/31/17 20 2 Timothy 3 4/3/17 4/7/17 21 2 Timothy 4 4/10/17 4/14/17 OFF - NO LESSONS EASTER WEEKS (2) 4/24/17 Titus Over view and Chapter 1 4/28/17 22 ISRAEL TRIP - GUEST SPEAKER 5/1/17 Titus 2 5/5/17 23 ISRAEL TRIP - GUEST SPEAKER 5/8/17 5/12/17 24 Titus 3 - End of study 5/15/17 *** NOTE: CALENDAR IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE :) "Blessed are the flexible" Practical helps for your bible study year: Personal "be" attitudes: ~ Be determined - Examine your daily schedule then set aside a consistent time and place to do your study. ~ Be prepared - Gather the materials you'll need: the Bible (we use NKJV), your workbook and a pen. Try to get your answers from the bible before going to a commentary. Sometimes another version, NLT, or ESV can help. ~ Be inspired - Begin each day with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to be your teacher and to illuminate your mind. ~ Be complete - Read the suggested Bible passages and finish the homework each day. You will get out of this study what you put into it. ~ Be persistent - Answer the questions as fully as possible. If you are unable to answer a question, move forward to the next one, or ask your leader for insight. ~ Be consistent - Don't get discouraged. If you miss a day, you can catch up the next. At the same time, remember there is grace here, life gets busy sometimes, so do what you can, and come to the group time anyway! You will be blessed! ~ Be honest - When answering questions, allow the Lord to search your heart and transform your life. ~ Be blessed - Enjoy your daily study time as He speaks to you through His Word. Small group "be" attitudes: ~ Be prayerful - Pray before you begin your time together. Your leader will always begin with prayer. ~ Be biblical - Keep all answers in line with God's Word: avoid personal opinions. ~ Be confidential - Keep all sharing in your small group confidential. ~ Be respectful - Listen without interrupting. Keep comments on track and to the point, so that all can share. It is our policy that literature, handouts, business cards, tracts, invites to home parties are not allowed. Do not use your group as a platform for politics or solicitations, or personal business of any kind. ~ Be discreet - In some cases, you do not need to share more than is absolutely necessary. Some details about personal issues do not need to be made known. ~ Be kind - Reply to the comments of others lovingly and courteously. ~ Be mindful - Remember your group members in prayer throughout the week. GHCJH>CHD;BE:µ 1 Thessalonians Overview LESSON 1 Welcome to our study of the Triple T's! We hope that you are as excited as we are to begin our 24-week study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. It is impossible to study these books of the Bible without being challenged in our Christian walk. With this challenge comes growth, which is the purpose and goal of this study. Our desire is that we develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May we accept the challenges that the Holy Spirit will bring our way and make the needed changes in our lives. May God richly bless you as you study His Word! First Day Before we begin our study of 1 Thessalonians, let me explain a bit about the format of our "Reasons to Rejoice" Bible Study. Each lesson has a 5-day homework plan to help you discipline yourself each week. Take your time. Don't rush through. Meditate and ponder each Scripture, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart personally. Do the same with the application questions. Don't just try to get an answer down on paper, allow the question to penetrate your heart. You don't want to miss anything the Lord has for you! You will also be given a memory verse each week. Bible memorization is very important! It teaches us to hide God's Word in our heart (Psalm 119:11). Be as diligent as possible memorizing the verse, asking the Holy Spirit to show YOU how it applies to YOU! As we study God's Word, it is important to read it like a detective. We don't want to just "breeze" through the text just to get through it. If we truly want God's Word to affect how we live daily, we need to know and understand what it says. The better we understand how to study His Word, the better we can apply it. The first step of Inductive Study is called "Observation." This is discovering what the author is saying. It begins with reading through your text, noting all the facts, and asking yourself, "What does the text say?" John Wycliffe said, "It shall greatly help you to understand Scripture if you mark not only what is spoken of or written, but of whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows." This is done by asking lots of questions (which I like to do!). Who are the main characters? What are the main events? What is happening? Who is speaking? Where was this written? Why was this written? How was it done? Ask yourself any questions you can possibly think of Also look for repeated words and phrases, what things are alike or different, any problems or solutions presented, are there any commands or promises given, etc. It's helpful to know why the author was writing, and whom he was writing to. Each week you will be asked to read the entire chapter, taking note of the facts you find. It's best to have a pencil handy to jot down all your observations. After you observe the text, you need to ask yourself "What does the text mean?" This step is called "Interpretation." This is the time to define any words that were unfamiliar to you, look for answers to your questions, cross-reference, do word studies, use your concordance and your dictionary.